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Thayer
Central Curriculum
It is the purpose of this handbook to inform you of the programs
of study available in the high school, grades 9-12, to answer questions
that you may have concerning registration for the coming year, and to
help you organize a systematic and comprehensive course of study which
will meet your immediate and future needs.
You are encouraged to take this
handbook home and to go over it with your parents. After studying the
material, you and your parents should determine what course of study
would be best for you to pursue, and what subjects are necessary to meet
your intended goal. If you
have any questions concerning your course of study, please contact the
guidance counselor or the principal. You should retain this handbook as a guide throughout your years in high school. It is suggested that you maintain an accurate personal record of your program in this handbook on the designated page. Parents are encouraged to participate with their son/daughter, the counselor and the principal as much as possible in determining courses of study for both a long- and short-range plan of studies. On
the following pages, you will find a tentative long-range goal sheet.
Parents and students should keep in mind that long-range goals
may be changed as long as the parent is involved in the process.
Education is not only for the work you
will be doing, but to a great extent determines the life you will be
living. Just as the type of
work you do determines the lifestyle you will be living, your education
will determine the type of work. So
plan carefully and plan early.
Senior High Courses of Study The following pages will describe the programs offered at Thayer Central High School that offer preparation in specific areas of: (1) college preparatory; (2) business/vocational/technical preparation; and
(3)
general education.
The above programs represent the academic side of a high school
education. The fine arts, music, art, physical education, sports
activities, participation in clubs, plays, and programs also contribute
much to the education of the whole individual. Each student is
encouraged to participate in extra programs and electives that are
sponsored by the school. College
Prep Program
The
College Prep Program is designed to meet most college entrance
requirements and to help students prepare for college study while in
high school. If students
plan to attend a college or university after graduation from high
school, they should develop a program, starting their freshman year,
which includes the maximum of Mathematics, English and
Science
courses available, along with a well rounded background in Social
Studies and any particular field of study they would be entering in
college, such as business or a vocational field.
In cases where there is doubt as to
which subjects students need to take, they should consult with the
guidance counselor at their earliest convenience. Business/Vocational/Technical
Program
The aim
of the Business Education Program is twofold.
The first is to prepare students for college where they will
major in the area of business upon graduation from high school. The
second is to prepare students with an adequate knowledge and ability in
office procedures and necessary skills for entering a field of this
nature. For further
information concerning these courses, consult the Business Education
Department.
The Vocational/Technical Program is a
broad term including industrial, vocational and technical education. It
is those phases of education that have to do with materials, tools,
processes, machines, and technical knowledge involved in the production
and utilization of products and services. Such areas of study include
but are not limited to Business, Industrial Technology, Family and
Consumer Science, etc. General
Program
The
General Program is for students who have not decided upon one of the
previously described programs. Choosing
this course of study is perfectly acceptable, and in many cases
desirable, if a student has not made a definite decision as to what
general career he will pursue upon graduation.
Students should, however, keep in mind the basic requirements for
graduation and make sure that all required courses are completed.
Students in grades 9-11, must be
scheduled in a class or activity the entire school day. Seniors may
register for a shortened day if they have earned enough credits. They
must also have written parental permission and approval by the counselor
and principal.
The student's schedule must include 5
solids. Solid courses are those courses that meet five days a week and
yield five credit hours per semester towards graduation. The following
are some examples of courses that are not solids:
Physical Education, Teacher Aides, Library Science, etc. Grade Classification
The
Superintendent and Principal shall determine the grade classification in
which a pupil shall be classified. Determination shall be based on the
recommendations from the student's parents, the pupil's academic
achievement and the social, mental, physical and emotional maturity of
the child. Credits successfully earned and the final report for the year
shall help determine the grade for placement next year.
Academic guidelines shall include:
1. Successful
completion of graduation requirements per grade level and a minimum of
225 credits earned successfully.
2. Successful
completion of credits earned each academic year to be placed at a
certain grade classification. Grade
9: 0-59
credits and one year of high school attendance Grade
10: 60-119
credits and two years of high school attendance Grade
11: 120-179
credits and three years of high school attendance Grade
12: 180
or more credits Four
years of attendance are required for graduation.
Students enrolling from schools that are not accredited or
approved by the state must have their work validated by an approved
state agency that determines the number of credits and passing work
before hours can be granted. Course
Sequence and Prerequisites Students will be allowed to take courses only in regular sequence. Example: You must have successfully completed Algebra I before enrolling in Algebra II or another higher math class. Check carefully in the section "Description of Courses" to be certain you have the prerequisites required of any course. In some cases, teachers can waive prerequisites to their class. Curriculum
Planning Guide
Students,
in any course of study, may participate in band and/or chorus. The
student may participate in extracurricular activities and sports
provided he/she maintains an eligibility status.
Courses offered normally earn one
credit hour a semester for each period the class meets each week.
Credit for assisting as an aid carries one credit for each two
hours of assisting per weekly granted on the semester basis. For
example: if the student serves as an aid for five days per week one hour
each day, the student may earn 2 1/2 credits per semester.
The student should remember that these
are general guidelines. A program for a student going into a technical
career as a civil engineer technician would have different classes than
a student going into a technical career as an operating room technician;
also, not all students entering a college prep program would necessarily
be enrolled in the same college prep classes.
Some electives may not be offered
during a given semester because of low enrollment figures or the lack of
certified personnel for teaching. Thus,
in some cases other electives not described may be substituted; in such
cases, students will be made aware of any changes and registration
altered if necessary. Graduation Requirements
Art
1 – Elements of Art
(9-12) 10 Credit Hours 2 Semesters
A studio course that covers an in-depth study of line, shape,
space, form, color and texture.
Worksheets, quizzes and a notebook containing all handout information,
notes, returned
quizzes and worksheets will be a requirement for
this
class. The student
will also be required to read information from the “Art Talk” text
concerning the elements of art.
$20.00 ART FEE Art
2 – Principles of Art (10-12)
10
Credit Hours
2
Semesters
A
studio course that covers an in-depth study of rhythm, movement,
balance, proportion, variety, emphasis, harmony and unity. A review of
techniques learned in Elements of Art. An in-depth study of drawing
techniques using pencil, colored pencil, pastel. Worksheets, quizzes and
a notebook containing handout information, notes, returned quizzes and
worksheets will be a requirement for this class. The student will also
be required to read information from the “Art Talk” text concerning
the principles of art. $20.00
ART FEE Art
3 – Art & Technology
(11-12)
10
Credit Hours
2
SEMESTERS
A
lecture and studio course. First semester covers the study of the use of
cameras, digital cameras and scanners. The students will practice the
techniques of good lighting, point of view, portraiture and landscape
photography.
Second semester encompasses practicing drawing with the computer
in Paint and then in Photoshop. Designing frames, drawings, a calendar,
a banner and retouching and superimposing photos into other photos will
allow students to use their creative abilities.
Art basics will be reviewed for all students, but especially
those who didn’t take Art 1 and Art 2.
No prerequisite art course
is required for enrollment in this course. $20.00
ART FEE Art
4 – Senior Portfolio (12) 10 CREDIT HOURS INDEPENDENT STUDY 2 SEMESTERS
A
studio course requiring a body of art work that will be done with chosen
topics and media. The body of artwork must have overall unity. Students
will have an individual showing of their art. This will require matting
and labeling work, preparing a place for showing, creating a program for
the body of work and setting up and taking down the showing. The student
is also required to show work in the annual art show at the end of the
year. The student will create a portfolio created with a digital camera
and the computer. Prerequisite:
Art 1 & 2
$20.00
ART FEE
Business Education Department
Personal
Finance (9-12)
5
CREDIT HOURS
1 SEMESTER
Students will learn basic money
management skills such as using a checkbook, taking out and paying for
loans, working with credit cards, and budgeting. They will learn about
consumer protection and rights; how to choose and get a job; filling out
tax forms; sources of credit and maintaining a good credit rating; and
insurance issues. Microsoft
Office (9-12)
5
Credit Hours
1
Semester
Students
will learn to use the components of MS Office, including Word (word
processing), Excel (spreadsheet), and Access (database). The course will
also include the use of PowerPoint, a presentation program. Beginning
Accounting (11-12)
10 Credit Hours
2 Semesters
This is a course in double entry accounting procedures using a
multi-journal system. Students will learn how these procedures are used
in business, including accounting for personal use. Use of the computer
to perform some accounting jobs is introduced. Everyone going into
business, or running their own business should take this class. It can
be beneficial to everyone. Accounting
II (12)
10 CREDIT HOURS
2
SEMESTERS
Accounting
II is an advanced course designed for the knowledge and skills needed by
students who are: preparing for an accounting position; planning on
owning their own business; or preparing for college accounting. The
course emphasizes departmentalized accounting, adjustments, corporate
accounting, cost accounting and management accounting. There will be
practice in automated accounting using computers.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Accounting I Marketing (11-12)
5
CREDIT HOURS
1
SEMESTER
New
chapters on marketing’s current hot topics: computer technology, the
global marketplace, and marketing for tomorrow’s business. There
will be some sports and entertainment simulations with which to
practice. Front
Page (10-12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
1 SEMESTER
This
will be a semester course that will be broken into two 9-week sections.
The first section will have the students making their own web page. The
second session will involve doing projects for teachers, coaches and
possibly community members.
The students will be making and maintaining web pages for
teachers and activities in the school, which may be included on our
school’s home page by the Webmaster. Some students may make web pages
for community members for various uses. Business
Law (11-12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
1 SEMESTER
Students will be learning the law that businesses and consumers
need to know to function in today’s society without getting taken
advantage of. This is a very informative class. It emphasizes the legal
issues that have an impact on everyday living and links the study of law
to other curriculum areas.
Computer Science Department Computer
Fundamentals (10-12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
1 SEMESTER
This
course covers the basics of how computers work. Materials from
"Journey Inside the Computer" (an Intel product) are used. The
class also covers binary numbers, Boolean algebra, spreadsheets, data
base management and programming in QBasic. Visual
Basic (10-12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
1
SEMESTER
The
Visual Basic programming environment provides all necessary tools to
build powerful programs for Windows quickly and efficiently. The course
is oriented toward the development of Windows-based
programs
and will cover the following:
variables, operators, conditionals, cases, loops, forms, art,
modules, procedures, arrays, files, databases and multimedia. Computer
Science (11-12)
10 CREDIT HOURS
2 SEMESTERS
This course will provide a strong
background for students with a potential long-range interest in
computers or related areas. Students will learn the fundamentals of
object-oriented programming with C++. First, they will learn the
fundamentals of the C++ language. Next, they will learn to use classes
to create programs, and learn to write their own classes. Finally, if
time permits, they will write programs that use the Windows graphical
user interface (GUI). There will be a very brief introduction to JAVA in
the fourth quarter.
In learning to program, the students
will use many important data structures and algorithms. All of this will
give the students the basics needed to become accomplished programmers.
This class is similar to Computer Science 155 taught at the University
of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Prerequisite:
FST, and Computer Fundamentals or Visual Basic Assembler
Language
(12)
5
CREDIT HOURS
INDEPENDENT
STUDY
1 Semester
This course is for the college bound
student with an intense interest in computers. The course will include
binary and hexadecimal numbering systems, loading, storing, shifting,
looping, branching, arithmetic and logical operations, addressing modes,
subroutines, stacks, and interrupts.
Prerequisite:
C++ and consent of instructor. AP
Computer Science
(12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
INDEPENDENT
STUDY This course will be a continuation of the first year computer science class and is designed to make final preparations for an AP examination in computer science. The content is as follows: records, files, programming methodology, searching & sorting, and recursion; a modest introduction to stacks, queues, linked lists, and trees will be included.
Prerequisite: Computer
Science and consent of instructor. Digital
Techniques (12) 10 CREDIT HOURS INDEPENDENT STUDY 2 SEMESTERS
This course covers digital logic
circuits, digital integrated circuits, Boolean algebra, flip-flops and
registers, sequential logic circuits, combinational logic circuiting,
and digital design.
Prerequisite:
PDM (or concurrent enrollment) and consent of instructor. COBOL (12)
5 CREDIT
HOURS
INDEPENDENT STUDY
1 SEMESTER
This course is oriented toward the
business world and will cover the following:
the four divisions, the MOVE statement, working storage sections,
compute statement, arithmetic verbs, conditional statements, arrays,
tables and files. FORTRAN (12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
INDEPENDENT STUDY
1 SEMESTER
This course is oriented toward
engineering and will cover the following:
procedures, structures, loops, arrays decisions, data files,
character handling and data types. Java (12)
5 CREDIT HOURS
INDEPENDENT
STUDY
1 SEMESTER
Java can generate two types of
programs:
1)
a stand-alone program called a Java application (or app
in Java parlance).
2)
a program designed to execute as part of a web page. These
programs are called Therefore,
the course is divided into two parts that correspond to the above.
Part
One: Java Expressions;
Variables; Operations on Integers, Floats, Booleans, and Strings; If,
While, For, and Switch statements; Introduction to Java Classes;
Overloading; Members; Objects; Arrays; Constructors; Inheritance;
Methods; Packages; and File I/O.
Part
Two: HTML; Events;
Multi-threading; Animation Techniques; Animating Images; and The Frame
Class. Webmastering
I (11) 10 CREDIT HOURS
INDEPENDENT STUDY
2 SEMESTERS
During
the first semester, this course will focus on the Microsoft FrontPage
software; the second semester will cover the essentials of HTML. A
significant part of the course deals with upgrading and maintaining the
Thayer Central Public Schools web site.
Prerequisite:
Permission of the instructor. Webmastering
II (12) 10 CREDIT HOURS
INDEPENDENT STUDY
2 SEMESTERS
This course will focus on JAVA and JavaScript during the first
semester. The second semester will deal with homepage design. Also, a
significant part of the course deals with upgrading and maintaining the
Thayer Central Public Schools web site.
Prerequisite: Webmastering I and
permission of the instructor.
English Department English
is required in 9th through 11th grades.
Speech/Language Arts 9 is required to graduate. College
preparatory students are encouraged to take English as seniors. Speech/Language
Arts 9 (9)
10 Credit Hours
2
Semesters
FIRST SEMESTER: Speech
education to include preparation techniques, organization, delivery and
purposes for speaking.
SECOND
SEMESTER: Survey course in literary elements and the dramatic
structure through the reading of the dramatic classic, Romeo
and Juliet. Also surveying America's contribution to theater through
modern day tragedy, West Side
Story. Examine forms of expression through poetry and use
research-writing skills to produce a major paper. Advanced
English 10 (10)
10 CREDIT HOURS
college prep
2 SEMESTERS
Students will spend significant time
studying how to master the elements of writing, specifically
concentrating on the mechanics such as usage and punctuation. Short
novels will also be read and discussed. Poetry, short stories, and other
literary genres will be studied. Creative writing will constitute a
significant part of the class. Essay and poetry contests and other
avenues of publication will be pursued.
Some attention will be paid to giving oral presentations and
using the computers to present presentations and/or to type papers and
other class assignments.
The Internet will also occasionally be
utilized. Fundamentals
of Literature
(10)
5
CREDIT HOURS
Non-College
Prep
2nd
Semester Basic types of literature will be studies. There will be oral reports, vocabulary and spelling work, and some composition. At least two contemporary novels may be read. Some original work such as poetry and short stories will be assigned. Language
Skills
(10) 5 CREDIT HOURS Non-College Prep 1st Semester
This class is designed to ensure that
the student has the basic minimal writing and speaking skills to succeed
in a nonprofessional job. 1.
Vocabulary & spelling work 2.
Writing skills: sentences, paragraphs, letters, reports, job
applications 3.
Oral communication skills 4.
Grammar review and sentence structure 5.
Interviews, introductions,
telephone calls, etc. 6.
Job and career information and guidance 7.
Short written paper 8.
Desktop publishing and word processing will be emphasized. American
Literature I (11)
5 CREDIT HOURS
College
Prep
1st
SEMESTER This
class will involve: 1.
Composition 2.
Critical essays 3.
Review of grammar and sentence structure 4.
Vocabulary and spelling work 5.
Oral reports 6.
Creative writing 7.
Contest work, if possible 8.
A study of American literature through the 19th century Prerequisite:
Approval of instructor American
Literature II (11)
5
CREDIT HOURS
College
Prep
2nd
Semester
This class will be a review of
twentieth century American Literature. It will include: 1.
the reading and studying of American novels, short stories, and
poetry; 2.
composition; 3.
review of grammar and sentence structure; 4.
vocabulary and spelling work; 5.
at least one research paper; 6.
oral reports; 7.
creative writing; 8.
contest work, if possible. |